Disk drive devices using various kinds of media, such as optical disks, magneto-optical disks, flexible magnetic disks, and the like have been known in the art. In particular, hard disk drives (HDDs) have been widely used as storage devices of computers and have been one of the indispensable storage devices for current computer systems. Moreover, the HDDs have found widespread application to moving image recording/reproducing apparatuses, car navigation systems, cellular phones, and the like, in addition to the computers, due to their outstanding characteristics.
A HDD comprises a magnetic disk for storing data and a head slider for accessing (reading or writing) the magnetic disk. The head slider comprises a head element portion to retrieve and/or write data from and/or to the magnetic disk and a slider on which the head element portion is formed. The head element portion comprises a recording element for converting electric signals to magnetic field in accordance with recording data to the magnetic disk and/or a reproducing element for converting magnetic field from the magnetic disk into electric signals.
A HDD further comprises an actuator for moving the head slider to a desired position above the magnetic disk. The actuator is driven by a voice coil motor (VCM) and pivots about a pivotal shaft to move the head slider above the spinning magnetic disk in its radial direction. This enables the head element portion to access the desired track formed on the magnetic disk to retrieve and write data.
The actuator has a suspension having elasticity and the head slider is bonded to the suspension with adhesive. The pressure caused by air viscosity between an air bearing surface (ABS) of the head facing the magnetic disk and the spinning magnetic disk balances the pressure applied by the suspension toward the magnetic disk to allow the head to fly over the magnetic disk with a specific gap.
In manufacturing a HGA, a test called a dynamic electric test (DET) is conducted. The DET sets an HGA to a test apparatus and carries out actual read/write operation from/to a spinning magnetic disk to evaluate a flying characteristic and a recording and reproducing characteristic on a head slider. A HGA with satisfactory specification in the DET proceeds to a next manufacturing step and a rejected HGA is discarded. Therefore, if a head slider does not satisfy the specification, the suspension with the head slider bonded thereto is discarded together, which has been a loss in manufacturing a HGA.
To avoid such a loss of suspension in manufacturing a HGA, an approach has been proposed that detaches a head slider from a suspension to reuse the suspension (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-227675 “Patent Document 1”). This approach of detaching a defect head slider from a suspension and reusing the suspension can prevent a loss of suspension due to defect of a head slider.
A suspension comprises a flexible gimbal for supporting a head slider on its surface facing a magnetic disk and a load beam for supporting the gimbal on its surface facing the magnetic disk. Typically, the head slider is connected to connection terminals for signal transmission on a tongue of the gimbal (flexure) with metal and securely bonded to the mounting surface of the tongue with adhesive. Therefore, when the head slider is torn off from the tongue, it is important to prevent deformation of the gimbal. A suspension with a deformed gimbal cannot be reused.
The method disclosed in the above-described document cuts or heats to melt the joint section of the head slider and the tongue, raises the head slider while holding the tongue with a stick-like flexure presser from the head slider side, and detaches the head slider. However, since the tongue and the gimbal are very flexible members, it is important to apply force onto the tongue so as not to deform the tongue and the gimbal.
The method in the above document has some problems in preventing deformation of the gimbal. Since the tongue is supported by a projecting dimple of the load beam, it is difficult to apply pressing force uniformly from the head slider side so as not to deform the gimbal. Moreover, the tongue has a risk to be deformed in raising the head slider vertically from the principal surface of the tongue. Consequently, a technique is required that can detach the head slider from the suspension suppressing deformation of the gimbal to a minimum extent.